ShortList is supported by you, our amazing readers. When you click through the links on our site and make a purchase we may earn a commission. Learn more

First look at Apple TV+ brand new thriller starring Natalie Portman

The Lady in the Lake reveal follows a bizarre extortion reports that marred production

By Danielle de Wolfe

09 May 2024

There's nothing more enticing than word of a brand new noir thriller starring one of Hollywoods biggest names, with upcoming Apple TV+ series Lady in the Lake ticking all the boxes.

With acting icons Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong’o set co-helm this twisted tale, the new series is poised to land on the streaming service on July 19, according to Apple.

The release date and first-look images come two years after an equally thrilling yet utterly bizarre series of police reports emerged from the set.

The baffling events saw Baltimore Police Department release a statement at the time alleging an “extortion threat” was exposed on-set - but more on that later.

Now, Apple has revealed the first Lady In The Lake images, with this seven-part series described as "a feverish noir thriller and an unexpected tale of the price women pay for their dreams".

The show's description has tongues wagging - or hiding behind cushions, whichever option floats your boat.

Directed and co-written by Alma Har’el, Dre Ryan is also listed as a co-writer and creator, the series is an adaptation of Laura Lippman’s New York Times best-selling novel.

Set in 1960s Baltimore, an unsolved murder pushes housewife and mother Maddie Schwartz (Portman) to reinvent herself as an investigative journalist - a direction that sees her cross paths with Cleo Sherwood (Nyong’o).

A multi-faceted character that looks set to clash with Maddie, Cleo is described as "a hard-working woman juggling motherhood, many jobs and a passionate commitment to advancing Baltimore’s Black progressive agenda".

The first two episodes of Lady in the Lake are due to debut on Friday, July 19, followed by new episodes dropping weekly until August 23.

It follows bizarre reports that emerged from set suggesting an "extortion" attempt by “drug dealers” made public by Baltimore's Police Department, as reported by Deadline.

The report suggested the extortionists tried to get $50,000 out of the producers on the Apple TV+ drama and even threatened to “shoot someone” if they didn’t get it.

According to a police statement at the time, the crew simply rescheduled filming and found a new location following the incident.

That wasn't before Baltimore PD released a brand new statement which, well, suggests they got the whole thing wrong.

The gun-wielding drug dealers were in fact one “local street vendor” who couldn’t sell clothes in his usual spot because of filming who was “arrested on narcotics charges” while “awaiting paperwork to receive compensation for lost business.”

And the person who said they saw a gun? They retracted their statement, with the on-set security employee who said they heard a threat to “shoot” later add they “did not have firsthand knowledge of the incident".

Just your average on-set antics, eh?

Either way, we can't wait to catch this new series when it lands in July.